SANITATION 
107 
The germs of putrefaction abound in dark places 
and the air becomes stagnant and impure. 
As the schoolroom bears very close relations to the 
home, the conditions there should be thought about by 
the housewife. Either from lack of time or money, 
wrong methods, or too few employees, the so-called 
cleaning of many schoolrooms consists in a vigorous 
sweeping with dry broom or floor brush after school 
at night. The dust settles during the night, but in 
the morning, instead of being taken away on damp or 
oiled cloths, it is stirred into the air again by the 
whisking feather dusters. 
At nine o’clock, in troop the children, with warm, 
moist throats, eyelids, and nostrils all ready to catch 
the floating germs which should have been removed . 
The housekeeping of schoolhouses needs intelligent 
supervision as well as the mental and moral equip¬ 
ment of their inmates. Where so many persons are 
gathered from many kinds of homes the danger from 
the presence of disease germs must be greatly in¬ 
creased over that of the private house. 
In dirty schoolrooms, poorly ventilated by windows 
and doors, compared with well ventilated rooms, the 
proportion of bacteria in the same volume of air has 
been found to be sometimes as great as si’- & one 
hundred. 
The cleaning and cleanness of schoolrooms should 
certainly interest mothers, next to that of their own 
homes. This may be their first civic duty. 
Cleaning 
School Rooms 
